Cookies on the Arsenal WebsiteWe use cookies to improve your browsing experience and help us improve our websites. For more information, please click here. By continuing to use our website, you agree to our use of such cookies.

Arsenal announces five new signings!

Arsenal in the Community welcomes five new members of staff thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between Croydon College under the Government's ‘Future Jobs' scheme.

Ryan Harley (24), Tashan Bradshaw (19), Charlaine Jarosch-John (22) from Islington and Davis Rizzolo (18) and Dean Ellul (23) from Hackney will be employed by Arsenal for six months and given training and work experience as well as receiving a salary. The young people aged between 18-24 years-old will be working across Arsenal in the Community's range of social inclusion, education and sport programmes including the Arsenal Double Club, Kickz, Positive Futures and Arsenal's popular soccer schools.

During their placement with the Club, they will complete an NVQ Level 2 Apprenticeship in Activity Leadership which is delivered by Croydon College, as well as numerous other qualifications such as their FA Level 1, various other sports coaching and youth working accreditation.

Head of Arsenal in the Community, Alan Sefton said: "This partnership is a wonderful opportunity for young people who are interested in working in sport to gain practical skills and gain qualifications on the job. It also gives us the opportunity to strengthen the delivery of our schemes with their help. We warmly welcome the new recruits and wish them every success over the next six months"

‘Future Jobs' is one of the key strands of the Government-led ‘Backing Young Britain' campaign. This initiative aims to encourage employers and organisations of all sizes to provide more opportunities for young people, who are seeking jobs, work experience or to develop their skills.

Arsenal Football Club is working with Croydon College alongside Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham, West Ham, Charlton Athletic and Brentford which has secured a £400,000 contract funded through the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). This contract will result in 60 new jobs being created for young people.

The ‘Future Jobs' programme assists unemployed 18-24 year-olds to secure a job for a minimum of six months. Croydon College identified unemployment hot spots in London and by working with top London football clubs are helping local communities by supporting young people in a tough economic climate.

At the end of 6teh six month employment period the clubs have committed to offering permanent employment for at least 50 per cent of the young people under this scheme. They will then undertake a full apprenticeship programme which will be delivered by Croydon College.

Claire Parry, Managing Director of Croydon Skills and Enterprise College said: "This contract is a real coup for the College and shows how we're dedicated to working innovatively in partnership with other organisations to support the development of both individuals and businesses in an unpredictable economic climate".

The new Arsenal employees are all looking forward to their six months with the Club. Tashan Bradshaw said: “The Future Jobs Fund has given me a great opportunity to earn valuable work experience and qualifications through a job that I love doing."

Ryan Harley added: “The Future Jobs Fund has offered me a life changing experience. Before the programme I couldn’t get much work but now I have a full time job which will open up a whole new career path to me."

Charlaine Jarosch-John said: “The Future Jobs Fund is another progression in my work with Arsenal in the Community. I started as a volunteer on the Kickz programme and was then taken on doing some part –time work. I now have a full time job which is a real achievement for myself and something that I love doing!”

Dean Ellul said: "The Future Jobs Fund means that I have 25 hours a week full time employment with a top football club. This 6 months is a huge a opportunity for me and I would like to thank the Arsenal in the Community staff for showing me that through hard work and a positive frame of mind I can change my life for the better."

And Davis Rizzolo added: "The Future Jobs Fund will give me valuable work experience and also give me extra qualifications on my CV. This is a great opportunity as Arsenal in the Community deliver so many different types of projects I can experience working in a wide range of environments."

Community schemes use sport and in particular football as a vehicle to create life changing opportunities for children, groups and individuals in their communities. This is achieved by working with a wide a range of partners including central and local government departments, schools, colleges, businesses and charitable trusts to design programmes that engage with all sections of their communities. The activities are based on the belief that engagement through sport can result in far more than just developing sports skills.

Copyright 2015 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source31 Mar 2010

Please ensure that you enter your parents email address and click here to review our privacy policy for those who are under 13. Please note that an email address can only be used once to register as a Digital Member so you cannot register for both an adult and junior membership under the same email address.

Mobile Number

* Country

Language Preference

* Postcode

* Email Address

* Confirm Email Address

* Password

* Confirm Password

Get all the news from Arsenal.com

Manager's Email and Weekly E-Newsletter (only in English)I would like to receive the weekly Manager's and Arsenal's e-newsletters and other information about offerings from The Arsenal Football Club Plc by post, email and SMS.

Club Offers and Information (only in English)I would like to receive ticket updates, membership notifications and details of other offers and information relating to The Arsenal Football Club Plc and its group companies from time to time ("Arsenal") by post, email and SMS.

Offers and Information About Our Partners and Sponsors (only in English)I would like to receive offers and information about carefully selected third parties, including partners and sponsors, from Arsenal by post, email and SMS.